Immigration

How Does The New Public Charge Rule Affect Green Card Applicants?

There has long been a component, during the immigration process, to prove that one will not become a burden on the US government.  Until recently, this was accomplished by the filing of an affidavit of support from the petitioning family member or sometimes employer.  As with most aspects of the law, there are exceptions such as those applying for residency

Read More »

Doe v. Nielson: Managing Mass Migration at the Border

Between 2015 and 2019 almost 300,000 individuals were apprehended by the United States Border Patrol in the Tucson Sector. These individuals were detained without beds, blankets, showers, “food that meets acceptable dietary standards,” access to medical assessments performed by medical professionals, and consistent access to potable water. On February 19, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of

Read More »

Denials, Delays & Disfunction – The Year In Review

In 2019, no aspect of our country’s immigration system escaped profound change. The upheaval left children separated from their parents, businesses without employees, farmers with crops rotting in the fields, international students stranded, and refugees living in squalid conditions. No American has been left untouched by immigration policy in 2019. DELAYS BUILD INVISIBLE WALL Processing delays are the bricks in

Read More »

Immigration Court: A System in Crisis and a Call for Reform

Recent policy changes affecting immigration courts are impeding their ability to safeguard the due process rights of non-citizens in a system that has always been hampered by fundamental flaws. With the immigration court backlog now exceeding over a million pending cases, as well as new deportation proceedings being initiated at record high numbers, it’s time for Congress to establish an

Read More »

Change Continues to Jolt America’s Immigration System

If anything is constant in today’s immigration landscape, it is that change is consistently happening. September has been no different with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changing how it will adjudicate Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for asylum applicants to be possible benefit of everyone else and the Supreme Court wading into the Trump Administration’s attempt to reduce the number

Read More »

Permanent Residency: Sponsor Requirements & Responsibilities

Immigration attorneys frequently find themselves presented with the same question – “But has the Trump administration really changed anything with respect to immigration law?” While it may feel as though the resounding answer is “yes,” in reality, President Trump’s administration has only strengthened the enforcement of the same immigration laws that were enacted years ago. With published memorandums, the travel

Read More »

Winter Is Here: How ICE’s Worksite Enforcement Is Impacting Employers

Game of Thrones may have ended abruptly, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not ending its worksite investigations anytime soon and employers are feeling the chill. As part of this administration’s focus on protecting U.S. workers, ICE is working in collaboration with the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Labor (DOL) to

Read More »

Recent Changes to I-130 Marriage Adjustment While in Immigration Court

As early as last year, the Immigration Court in Portland, Oregon was willing to grant a motion to dismiss for respondents who received an approval notice for form I-130 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. This would allow the respondent to be able to file an I-485 application directly with USCIS after their court case had been dismissed and

Read More »

Can President Trump Use the National Emergency Act to Fund a Border Wall

Since the Constitution grants the power of the purse expressly to Congress (Art 1, Sect. 9, Cl. 7), a president has no power to obtain funding except very limited authority from only three possible sources: (1) a Congressional Appropriation; (2) emergency power granted by Congress to the president under a variety of statutes on particular subjects; or (3) very limited

Read More »

How Does The New Public Charge Rule Affect Green Card Applicants?

There has long been a component, during the immigration process, to prove that one will not become a burden on the US government.  Until recently, this was accomplished by the filing of an affidavit of support from the petitioning family member or sometimes employer.  As with most aspects of the law, there are exceptions such as those applying for residency

Read More »

Doe v. Nielson: Managing Mass Migration at the Border

Between 2015 and 2019 almost 300,000 individuals were apprehended by the United States Border Patrol in the Tucson Sector. These individuals were detained without beds, blankets, showers, “food that meets acceptable dietary standards,” access to medical assessments performed by medical professionals, and consistent access to potable water. On February 19, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of

Read More »

Denials, Delays & Disfunction – The Year In Review

In 2019, no aspect of our country’s immigration system escaped profound change. The upheaval left children separated from their parents, businesses without employees, farmers with crops rotting in the fields, international students stranded, and refugees living in squalid conditions. No American has been left untouched by immigration policy in 2019. DELAYS BUILD INVISIBLE WALL Processing delays are the bricks in

Read More »

Immigration Court: A System in Crisis and a Call for Reform

Recent policy changes affecting immigration courts are impeding their ability to safeguard the due process rights of non-citizens in a system that has always been hampered by fundamental flaws. With the immigration court backlog now exceeding over a million pending cases, as well as new deportation proceedings being initiated at record high numbers, it’s time for Congress to establish an

Read More »

Change Continues to Jolt America’s Immigration System

If anything is constant in today’s immigration landscape, it is that change is consistently happening. September has been no different with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changing how it will adjudicate Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for asylum applicants to be possible benefit of everyone else and the Supreme Court wading into the Trump Administration’s attempt to reduce the number

Read More »

Permanent Residency: Sponsor Requirements & Responsibilities

Immigration attorneys frequently find themselves presented with the same question – “But has the Trump administration really changed anything with respect to immigration law?” While it may feel as though the resounding answer is “yes,” in reality, President Trump’s administration has only strengthened the enforcement of the same immigration laws that were enacted years ago. With published memorandums, the travel

Read More »

Winter Is Here: How ICE’s Worksite Enforcement Is Impacting Employers

Game of Thrones may have ended abruptly, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not ending its worksite investigations anytime soon and employers are feeling the chill. As part of this administration’s focus on protecting U.S. workers, ICE is working in collaboration with the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Labor (DOL) to

Read More »

Recent Changes to I-130 Marriage Adjustment While in Immigration Court

As early as last year, the Immigration Court in Portland, Oregon was willing to grant a motion to dismiss for respondents who received an approval notice for form I-130 based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. This would allow the respondent to be able to file an I-485 application directly with USCIS after their court case had been dismissed and

Read More »

Can President Trump Use the National Emergency Act to Fund a Border Wall

Since the Constitution grants the power of the purse expressly to Congress (Art 1, Sect. 9, Cl. 7), a president has no power to obtain funding except very limited authority from only three possible sources: (1) a Congressional Appropriation; (2) emergency power granted by Congress to the president under a variety of statutes on particular subjects; or (3) very limited

Read More »

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